FRANCE - IVG Institutional Funds has raised €250m for a club fund focused on commercial properties in Paris.

Four institutional investors have committed to the fund, allowing IVG to complete a first closing in February and secure the first real estate asset.

The fund is a German special fund, but IVG has described it as a "club deal structure" due to the maximum number of investors being limited to six, each with a minimum investment of €15m.

IVG Paris-Fund will invest solely in office and retail properties in central Paris, aiming to benefit from rental growth in the area and provide a high degree of rental and income security.

Bernhard Berg, managing director at IVG Institutional Funds, said: "The great interest in our new Paris-Fund emphasises the trend toward regional structured products with a clear focus on preferred inner-city locations."

The first asset secured for the fund was a building with a prominent retail profile in an inner-city location, fully renovated between 2008 and 2009.

IVG acquired the property at an initial yield of 5.4% and with a lease of 10 years.
Parent company IVG Immobilien recently raised €87m in new equity through the placement of new shares.